The Tuesday morning massacre was followed by the Tuesday evening massacre, the first a harbinger of more bad times to come the second a promise of better times to follow.
Now, the watchword is Ramming Speed!
The morning brought news that Rex Tillerson had been fired by Donald J Trump from his post as Secretary of State. Tillerson had many faults to answer for but the trait that got him fired was no fault but a badge of honor – he refused to be a sycophant, a puppet for Trump.
Every president wants and is entitled to have around him (“her” someday) people who believe in the president’s “vision” and help carry it out. But smart presidents welcome and are greatly aided by people who argue another view, point out dangers in a course of action and curb the presidential tendency to use power to shoot from the hip.
Tillerson warned against war with North Korea, argued against withdrawing from the Paris Environmental Accords and the Iranian Nuclear Treaty, pushed for free trade and in other ways tried to speak truth to power. Yes, he was ineffective for the most part but now gone, even the small part is squashed.
And now Trump, moving to drive out any remaining in-house obstacles to his impulse to act the Sampson to the pillars of our democracy, wants Pompeo the tea party yes-man at State, Haspel the smiling torturer at CIA with his sights set on changes at the Veterans Administration and particularly the troublesome Justice Department.
As Trump moves to a one-man rule, Pray that Mattis retains some ability to tame the savage impulses that drive this man to harm the Country and so many people within its borders.
Until the fruit of the Tuesday evening massacre strikes him.
Make no mistake, what happened in the rock solid 18th Congressional District of Pennsylvania was a massacre of Trumpism and a harbinger of better times ahead.
Here was a District that Trump carried in 2016 by 19 points; Tuesday night no matter who finally is declared the winner by a few hundred votes Trump lost it all. Lost many of the voters who took a chance on him and now, with eyes wide open, see the vulgar con-man that he is and want none of it.
Lost the ability to brag that he can do anything he wants, even shoot somebody, and not lose a single vote. There will always be a hard core base that doesn’t know or doesn’t care what he does, but the fear that such a base could keep him and his selfish gang in power is gone.
However, complacency now would be fatal for the movement to rid the Country of this man and his gang of enablers. There are no laurels today which allow resting. Every one of us must never stop aiding the anti-trump forces – money, time and calling out each and every abuse of power and each and every hurt done to people in this country.
The time for Battle Speed is over.
Until Trumpism is totally wiped out it’s Heart and Soul at
Ramming Speed!